The industry of transporting large volumes of materials relies on employing vehicles of sufficient power and capacity to contain and safely move material over a variety of surfaces. Railroad supported material handling cars in large trains move bulky material such as coal and corn over long distances through fixed transportation routes. Motorized vehicles, like dump trucks, of all sizes haul materials over shorter distances and in more diverse transportation routes. In certain regions, dump trucks keep in tow one or more dump trailers in order to increase the size of the load being hauled per trip. In all the transportation devices utilized, a dump bed is the basic container for the materials. The dump bed, dump box, or simply box is subjected to wear and loads that require a very durable and rugged design. The structure must be very strong and yet minimize weight so that the vehicle equipped with the box can maximize the quantity of material being hauled per trip.
The standard box is comprised of five basic components, a bottom (or bed), which serves as the base of the box to be attached to the vehicle. Three walls (or sides) are vertically mounted to the bed and attached at two common corners. A fourth side remains open to facilitate a gate for unloading the contents of the box. Often, reinforcing members are attached to the outside surfaces to improve structural integrity while minimizing weight.
The standard form of construction for the box is to align a heavy sheet of steel on braces in a horizontal fashion. This sheet of material, typically steel, will be the bed of the box. Subsequently, more braces are erected above and around the bed. Then each side, typically lighter sheets of steel, are rigged to the bracing and meticulously maneuvered into position to be attached by welding processes. All three sides are capable of distortion while being assembled, and therefore must be repeatedly readjusted with heavy-duty presses and rigging equipment. The standard process is very time consuming as well as inconsistent. Each box is constructed individually, and each box is different in final dimension. Additionally, the above-described assembly process requires skilled welders and mechanics, thus adding to the cost of construction.